Method of making an insulated container



Nov. 2, 1965 H. M. PIKER METHOD OF MAKING AN INSULATED CONTAINER 3Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed. Dec. 13, 1960 INVENTOR.

HERBERT M Pl/(ER Nov. 2, 1965 H. M. PIKER METHOD OF MAKING AN INSULATEDCONTAINER 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Dec. 13. 1960lllllrllrllllllllli llllplal )l-lll INVENTOR. HERBERT M. P/KER,

Nov. 2, 1965 H. M. PIKER 3,214,330

METHOD OF MAKING AN INSULATED CONTAINER Original Filed Dec. 13. 1960 3Sheets-Sheet 3 "r F {66 9 Fl I: I l\ V 8 63 a \g\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\k Z .7.69 27% 45 k J 5570 ,65 60 37 L 26 3 27 36 a 8 3a 34 i @1 /3 r INVENTOR.

Ila/ease? M. Pl/(ER a, Wm

I Q10. BY

United States Patent 3,214,830 NIETHOD OF MAKING AN INSULATED CONTAINERHerbert M. Pilter, Wyoming, Ohio, assignor to The Hamilton-SkotchCorporation, Hamilton, Ohio, :1 corporation of Ohio Original applicationDec. 13, 1960, Ser. No. 75,617. Divided and this application May 16,1962, Ser. No. 195,342

2 Claims. (Cl. 29-416) This application is a division of the applicationof Herbert M. Piker, Serial No. 75,617, filed December 13, 1960 andentitled, Insulated Container.

This invention relates to improvements in a method of making aninsulated container, particularly the outer member of such a container.

The invention is disclosed in connection with a container frequentlyreferred to as a jug such as would be employed in transporting liquidsin either a hot or cold state and with said liquids retained in this hotor cold state for a considerable period of time.

Broadly, containers for the purpose of that herein shown and describedare well known, but those heretofore known included materials requiringmachining particularly when parts thereof were formed of metal. Thecontainer of the present invention is formed entirely of moldedsynthetic resins and which molded parts are merely assembled by properlypositioning of the parts with respect to one another.

The principal object of the present invention, therefore, is theprovision of a method of making a molded inner and outer member whichare readily assemblable with one another to have the inner membersuspended within the outer member.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a method ofmaking a container that will meet the foregoing object and in which theparts, inner and outer container, are formed by the blow moldingprocess.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a methodof making an insulated container in which the inner and outer memberwhile formed by the blow molding process are so designed that the saidouter member may be provided with an open end through which the innermember is inserted without loss of material in the said outer memberwhen adapting it to re ceive the inner member.

A still further object of the present invention is the provision of amethod of making a molded container whereby the outer member of theinsulated container is formed or made and whereby said outer containeris subsequently formed to provide an opening therethrough to theinterior thereof and the means through which said opening is providedforming the eventual or subsequent closure for the outer member opening.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention should be readilyapparent by reference to the following specification considered inconjunction with the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof and itis to be understood that any modifications may be made in the exactstructural details there shown and described, within the scope of theappended claims, without departing from or exceeding the spirit of theinvention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the insulated container of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the container of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the container of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a transverse sectional view through the container as seen fromline 44 on FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view through the containor as seen fromline 5-5 on FIG. 1.

3,2l4,839 Patented Nov. 2, 1965 FIG. 6 is a view partly in section andpartly in elevation of the outer member of the container which includesa closure member for said container and which view illustrates themethod of producing said outer member and its closure.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged, vertical, sectional view of the upper end of theinsulated container of the present invention, as seen, for example, fromline 7-7 on FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary, transverse, sectional view through the upperend of the container as seen from line 8-8 on FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a view showing the upper end, container closure, in plan andits removable cup in section as seen from line 9Sl on FIG. 7.

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary, sectional view of the upper end or closure capof the insulated container showing the parts in a second position ofuse, as seen, in effect, from line lit-10 on FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a view similar to FIG. 6 showing a modification in theinvention.

FIG. 12 is a view partly in section and partly in elevation embodyingthe modification of FIG. 11.

Throughout the several views of the drawings similar referencecharacters are employed to denote the same or similar parts.

As was noted above, this invention pertains to improvements in aninsulated container such as are generally referred to as picnic jugs.Picnic jugs are not new, per se, but as herein disclosed a new andeconomical jug is produced and in which the parts are molded fromsynthetic resins and simply snapped or assembled with one another andwhich action automatically secures the parts to one another forpermanently suspending an inner member within an outer member.

Specifically, and referring to the drawings, specifically, FIG. 5, thereis provided an outer member 15, an inner member 16, assembled with theouter member through an opening 17 at the lower end of said outer memberand with said outer member opening 17 closed by a cap 18-. The innermember 16 is provided at its upper end with an opening or outlet 19normally closed by a readily removable cap 26.

The outer member 15 includes a body portion 21 which as shown in FIGS.2, 3 and 4, for example, is of angular cross section, that is, has foursides which though rounded or slightly arcuate are, substantially, atright angles to one another thereby giving said outer container body 21the general appearance of being square in transverse cross section orplan. The lower ends of the said body portion 21 inwardly turn toprovide a bottom 22 from which downwardly projects a sleeve 23 havingformed centrally thereof the opening 17 to the interior of the outermember 15. The upper ends of the body portion sides likewise inwardlyproject to form a top 24 substantially centrally of which rises a neck25 terminating an outwardly formed bead or hollow flange 26 with anopening 27 centrally of the bead 26.

The said outer member body 21 when being formed is formed by the blowmethod and at this time is provided beyond its sleeve 23 with a secondsleeve 28, see FIG. 6, of an internal diameter closely approaching theexternal diameter of the sleeve 23. The said sleeve 28 and the sleeve 23are joined to one another by a shoulder or flange 29 radially outwardlyprojecting from the outer end of the sleeve 23. The sleeve 28 has itsouter end closed by a disclike closure or body member 30.

The sleeves 23 and 28 are respectively provided with an outwardlyprojecting rib 31 and 32 which are actually screw threads adapted to beinterengaged by one another as will subsequently be made clear, and asclearly illustrated in FIG. 5.

The projecting second sleeve 28 and its disc closure member form theabove referred to closure member or cap 18 that closes the opening 17 tothe interior of the outer member 15.

The said closure member 18 is obtained by the improved method of thepresent invention by severing the said sleeve 28 from the sleeve 23 byremoving the shoulder or radial flange 29 from the molded part. In otherwords after the outer member 15 and closure member or cap 18 have beenformed as illustrated in FIG. 6 the parts are separated from one anotherbetween the phantom lines 33 and 34 and which -lines represent, ineffect, the thickness of a severing tool employed in separating orsevering the parts from one another, and which cutting or severing toolis of a thickness substantially equal to the radial flange or shoulder29. It is believed obvious from the foregoing and the above descriptionthat after the said parts have been separated from one another theclosure cap 18 through its sleeve 28 may be fitted on the sleeve 23since the internal diameter of the sleeve 18 is substantially equal tothe external diameter of the sleeve 23 and since the parts are providedwith complementary and interengaging threads 31 and 32 the closure 18may be screwed or threaded onto the sleeve 23.

The upper end of the outer member 15 is provided at two diametricallyopposite points with outwardly projecting hollow lugs 35 and 36 throughthe outer vertical wall of which there is provided an aperture,respectively, '37 and 38, for a purpose subsequently to be described.

The inner member or container, per se, includes a body portion 39 whichis preferably circular in cross section or plan and of a diameter topass freely through the opening 17 at the bottom of the outer member.The lower end of the container wall 39 forms a bottom 40 for the saidcontainer while the upper ends thereof conically inwardly extends as at41 terminating in a neck 42. The neck 42 upwardly of the conical portion41 is formed with an outwardly projecting flange or bead 43 which isfollowed by a slightly reduced cylindrical neck portion 44. The upperend of the reduced neck portion 44 inwardly turns as a radial flange 45to provide a flat face 46 at the upper end of the neck portion 44 andwhich cooperates with a closure cap to form a seal for the upper end ofthe inner container. The said reduced neck portion 44 is providedexternally thereof with a rib 47 constituting or forming a screw thread.

The external diameter of the container flange or bead 43 is such as tobe substantially equal to the internal diameter of the outer memberflange or bead 26 and said container bead or flange 43 has its outerdiameter slightly greater than the internal diameter of the outer memberneck 25 adjacent to but below its flange or head 26. The outer diameterof the container neck rib or thread 47 is such as to just pass throughthe opening 27 at the upper end of the outer member 15 flange or bead26.

After the outer member 15 has been formed or blown as illustrated inFIG. 6, and the said outer member has had severed therefrom the closuremember or cap 18, and after the inner container 16 has been formed orblown the said inner member is inserted through the outer member bottomopening 17 and pressure applied to the parts to cause the inner memberbead 43 to be snapped through the outer member neck 25 into the seatprovided on the interior of the outer member flange or head 26. It is tobe understood that during this assemblage of the inner and outer membersthe reduced diameter neck portion 44 of the inner member or container 16is passing through the top opening 27 of the outer member flange or bead26. After the said beads 43 and 26 have been interengaged the parts arecompletely and operatively associated with one another to the point ofsubstantially defying separation, except by or through extreme pressureon the parts and only by having said pressure carefully applied to theparts.

From the foregoing, it will now be apparent that there has been provideda container including an outer member 15 and an inner member orcontainer 16 with a considerable space 48 between the body portions 21and 39, respectively, thereof. In order to fully insulate the said partsfrom one another the said space 48 is filled with heat insulatingmaterial such as spun glass. It should be noted that this insulatingmaterial may have granular form for filling the said space 48,preferably, however, the said insulating material will take the form ofa sheet or blanket which is wrapped around the body 39 of the container16 prior to the assembly of the parts and since the said blanket iscompressible it could be compressed for insertion within the outermember at the same time that the container 16 is being inserted into theouter member, but, the insulating blanket is preferably laid within theouter member 15 against the inner surface of its body 21 and the innercontainer passed through the said insulating blanket to its final andsuspended position. The said insulating blanket or material isidentified in the drawings by the reference numeral 49.

As will be seen from FIG. 5 the bottom 40 of the inner member orcontainer 16 is upwardly spaced from the closure cap body portion 30thereby providing between the said bottoms a space 50 and which isoccupied by a disc 51 of insulating material placed within the opening17 of the sleeve 23 prior to the screwing onto said sleeve of theclosure cap 18.

In order to transport the insulated container there is provided a bailhandle, indicated in its entirety by the reference numeral 52,comprising a grip or body portion 53 from the opposite ends of whichdepend arms 54 and 55 with said arms having their lower free endsinwardly turned as fingers, respectively, 56 and 57. As will be notedparticularly in FIG. 7 the lugs 35 and 36 extend for the entire heightof the outer member neck 25 and including the outer member flange orbead 26 while the flange or bead 43 of the inner member neck occupiesmerely the space of the flange 26 and thereby provides space beneath thesaid inner container flange or bead 43 within said projections 35 and36. It is into this space 58 and 59, respectively of the lugs 35 and 36,that the bail handle fingers 56 and 57 project and are thereby disposedbeneath the inner container flange or bead 43. As seen in FIG. 8 thesaid inner member or container flange or bead 43 is provided at twodiametrically 0pposite points with outwardly projecting ears 60 and 61with said ears, see FIG. 7, respectively, projecting into the hollowinteriors of the lugs 35 and 36 and with said lugs upon final assemblyof the parts overlying the bail handle fingers 56 and 57 for therebyadditionally locking the parts in their operative or assembled positionand at the same time disposing a part of the weight of the innercontainer, when filled, on the said carrying handle instead of throwingall of said weight on the interengaged or interlocked flanges or beads43 and 26.

In practice the opening through the inner member or container neck 44 isemployed to fill the said inner member or container 16 and this openingi closed by a cup shaped cap 62 which comprises the usual closing bodymember 63 and depending skirt 64 having an inwardly projecting thread 65cooperating with the neck thread 45 in securing the cap 62 in operativeposition and with the inner surface of the closure cap body 63 engagingthe flat surface 46 at the upper end of the neck 44.

A suitable and usual closure cap 66 is provided which is quite similarin cross section to the closure cap 62- having a body portion 67 and aperipheral flange 68 ex-- tending from the body portion 67. The closurecup is: frictionally held in position through a groove 69 at the:

free end of the flange wall 68 engaging, with an outwardly projectingflange on the closure cap 62, as clearly illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 7.

As was noted above the inner member or container 16 is filled throughthe opening in the neck 44 and the discharge from the container could beeffected in the same manner, but since the said discharge from thecontainer is generally by way of small quantities, cupfuls, such as theclosure cup 66, the said relatively large opening through the neck isinconvenient. Accordingly, the closure cap 62 is provided with asupplemental opening 71, preferably to one side of said closure cap 62and neck passageway and with said opening 71 quite small by comparisonwith the opening of the neck 44. The said closure cap opening 71 iscentrally of an upstanding sleeve 72 which, for convenience, may betermed a discharge nozzle.

The said sleeve or nozzle 72 is in turn closed by a closure member 73again of the accepted construction of an inverted cup. The closuremember 73, therefore, includes a body portion 74 from the rim of whichdepends peripheral flange 75 having an internal diameter to frictionallyengage the external surface of the sleeve or nozzle 72. The closure 73is adapted to be substantially permanently and pivotally attached to theclosure cap 62 wherefore it has rearwardly projecting therefrom an arm76. The arm 76, see FIG. 9, has its rear end fureated, as at 77, toprovide mounting fingers 78 and 79. The fingers 78 and 79 are joined andhave extending between them a circular member or trunnion 80.

It is through the trunnion 80 that the closure 73 is mounted in positionby cooperation with an upstanding mounting lug 81, see FIGS. 7 and 10.The upstanding lug 81 is provided downwardly of its upper end with aseat 82, arcuate in elevation and communicating with the atmospherethrough an opening 83 formed between lugs 84 and upstanding from thearcuate seat 82.

The arcuate seat 82 is generated about a center and has a radiussubstantially equal to the radius of the journal 80 and wherefore thesaid journal 89 rolls or oscillates on the seat 82 as will presently bemade clear. The journal 80 is held to the arcuate seat 82 by the lugs 84and 85 which, as seen in FIGS. 7 and 10, somewhat overlie the said seat82, wherefore, the opening 83 is of a transverse dimension less than thediameter of the trunnion 80. The lugs 84 and 85 are slightly springableand adapted to be sprung by the trunnion upon pressure being applied tosaid trunnion to cause same to pass through the opening 83 to engage thearcuate seat 82.

From the foregoing, it will be obvious that the closure 73 may be raisedfrom its closing position by actuating the same and through its arm 76on the axis of the trunnion 80; the closed position of the parts beingillustrated in FIG. 7, while the open position thereof is illustrated inFIG. 10. In order to conveniently actuate the closure 73 it hasprojecting from its forward end an actuating finger 86.

As will be obvious the tilting of the container to a position fordraining or pouring the last of the liquid from the inner containerwould cause the closure 73 to drop by gravity to a closed position andthereby interfere with the emptying of the container. In order toprevent this condition the trunnion 80 is located inwardly of the outerends of the mounting fingers 78 and 79 a distance that the ends of saidmounting fingers 78 and 79 are a greater distance from the center ofgeneration of the arcuate seat 82 than the said center of the arcuateseat is above the upper surface of the closure cap 62. By thisconstruction the corners 87 and 88 of the mounting fingers 78 and 79lock the closure 73 in positions to keep it from falling by gravity toeither of its operative positions, that is, the closed position of FIG.7 or the open position of FIG. 10. This construction will find its mostusefulness with respect to maintaining the said closure 73 in its openposition, as clearly illustrated in FIG. 10.

Since the parts, as noted above, are formed of synthetic resinmaterials, plastics, there is a certain amount of inherent spring in theparts and wherefore the closure 73 through its lifting finger 86 may beforcefully positioned as illustrated in FIG. 10 and will remain in thisposition until forcefully actuated to the closed position of FIG, 7.

The modified construction illustrated in FIG. 11 pertains primarily tothe construction of the closing means for the outer member, particularlywhen said outer member is formed by the blow process.

The said outer member bottom 22, as illustrated in FIG. 11, has a sleeve89 downwardly projecting therefrom with its wall outwardly inclined withrespect to the said container bottom 22. This sleeve 89 has its outerend closed by a disc-like closure member or body portion 90.

In practice, and after the formation of said outer member, the sleeve 89is severed or cut on the line 91 thereby dividing the sleeve into afirst portion 89' integral with the outer member body 22 and a secondportion 89" including the closure body portion 90, and together formingthe closure cap 18' of FIG. 12. The cut on the line 91 in themodification in FIG. 11 is effected by a knife or slitting blade ratherthan by a cutter or kerfing tool of a thickness that would remove theflange 29 of FIG. 6.

It will be noted, that, by cutting the sleeve 89 with a single slittingor shearing blade on the line 91 the resulting sleeve second portion 89"has at its upper end an internal diameter substantially equal to theexternal diameter of the sleeve portion 89' at its upper end adjacentthe outer member bottom 22 so that when said sleeves are assembled bytelescoping, as illustrated in FIG. 12, the outer sleeve 89" is lockedon the sleeve portion 89' against inadvertent displacement. Thisrelationship of the parts is the result of the angularity of the sleevewall to the container bottom and due to the thickness of the material,all as will be obvious from a study of said FIGS. 11 and 12.

To all intents and purposes the insulated container of FIG. 12 isotherwise identical with the container above described and fullyillustrated in FIG. 5, that is, closed at its upper end by closure cap62 and dispensing cup 66 and provided with bail handle 52.

The space 48 between the inner container and outer member, asillustrated in FIG. 12, may be supplied with insulation as above setforth. However and to further insure the locking of the sleeve portions89 and 89" to one another, and thereby the closure cap 18, afterassembly, use may be made of a foam type of plastic insulation.

This foam type of plastic insulation is well known and consists,essentially, of mixing two liquids such as, toluene and di-isocyanate.In other words, after the inner container and outer member have beeninterconnected by engaging the flange or head 43 of the inner containerneck with the outer member head or channel 26 and before the closure cap18 is applied to the outer member, proper quantities of the liquids,such as, toluene and diisocyanate, are placed within the said space 48between the inner container and outer member and thereafter the saidclosure cap 18' placed in position.

The chemical reaction of the insulation, or foam, forming liquidscommences substantially immediately upon their association and continuesuntil the said chemical reaction has affected all of the liquid andwhich means that the entire space is taken up by the said foam. The foamhardens to a substance generally referred to as foam plastic having adefinite shape and rigidity. This action therefore results in the spacewithin the outer member bottom sleeve portion 89' and below the bottomof the inner container and the upper surface of the body member 90 ofthe closure cap 18' having a tapered circular wedge shape for lockingthe parts to one another and preventing the removal of the sleeveportion 89" (closure cap 18) from the outer container.

In view of the foregoing, it is believed now evident that there has beenprovided a transportable container or insulated jug that is economicalto produce and acquire and will otherwise accomplish the objectsinitially set forth.

What is claimed is:

1. The method of producing a plastic outer or enclosing container ormember by the blow method for an insulated container comprising formingby blow molding in a suitable mold the said outer or enclosing containeror member to include a top, a bottom having a downwardly extendingsleeve axially centrally of the bottom with said sleeve including afirst portion and a second portion closed at the outer end of the secondportion by a body portion and said sleeve being outwardly tapered fromthe outer or enclosing member bottom to form in effect a truncated conebelow said bottom, connecting sides between the top and bottom, a neckupwardly of the top centrally apertured, removing said formed containerfrom the mold, severing said sleeve intermediate the first and secondportions thereof for separating said sleeve second portion from thesleeve first portion and to provide an opening through said sleeve firstportion to the interior of the outer or enclosing container or memberand each sleeve portion being in the form of a shallow truncated conewhereby said sleeve portions have complementary tapers interengagablewith one another upon the telescoping thereof for locking the sleevesecond portion on the sleeve first portion, and subsequentlysnap-fitting said second sleeve portion onto said first sleeve portionand with said sleeve second portion body portion closing 'the openingthrough the sleeve first portion.

2. The method of producing an insulated plastic container comprisingforming an outer or enclosing member by blow molding to including a top,a bottom, connecting sides, a centrally apertured neck upwardly of thetop and suspending means integral with said neck for subsequent use,forming an inner container to have a top, a bottom,

connecting sides between the top and bottom, a neck upwardly of the topand suspending means integral with the inner container neck forsubsequent use, said inner container being formed to dimensions lessthan the dimensions of the outer or enclosing member, removing a portionof the bottom of the outer or enclosing member to form an openingtherethrough to a dimension to permit passage of the inner container,inserting said inner container through the outer or enclosing memberbottom opening to be within the outer or enclosing member and to havethe inner container neck project through and upwardly of the outer orenclosing member neck aperture, interengaging the suspending means ofthe outer or enclosing member neck and the co-operating means of theinner container neck for suspending the said inner container within theouter or enclosing member, said removed portion of said bottom beingadapted to be subsequently used as a closure member for said bottomopening, and fitting and securing said bottom removed portion to saidremaining portion of the bottom as a closure member for the bottomopening.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,589,138 6/26Fisk 215-113 1,676,004 7/28 Bultman 21513 1,987,892 1/35 Duevel et al215-13 2,790,475 4/5'7 Close .5 2,837,232 6/58 Rossi 215-13 2,838,1946/58 Piker 21513 2,880,899 4/59 Bramming 215-13 2,966,872 1/61 Schmocker113--51 X 2,981,430 4/61 Tsien et a1. 215-13 3,004,285 10/61 Hagen.

3,096,897 7/63 Hansen 215-l3 WHITMORE A. WILTZ, Primary Examiner.

1. THE METHOD OF PRODUCING A PLASTIC OUTER OR ENCLOSING CONTAINER ORMEMBER BY THE BLOW METHOD FOR AN INSULATED CONTAINER COMPRISING FORMINGBY BLOW MOLDING IN A SUITABLE MOLD THE SAID OUTER OR ENCLOSING CONTAINEROR MEMBER TO INCLUDE A TOP, A BOTTOM HAVING A DOWNWARDLY EXTENDINGSLEEVE AXIALLY CENTRALLY OF THE BOTTOM WITH SAID SLEEVE INCLUDING AFIRST PORTION AND A SECOND PORTION CLOSED AT THE OUTER END OF THE SECONDPORTION BY A BODY PORTION AND SAID SLEEVE BEING OUTWARDLY TAPERED FROMTHE OUTER OR ENCLOSING MEMBER BOTTOM TO FORM IN EFFECT A TRUNCATED CONEBELOW SAID BOTTOM, CONNECTING SIDES BETWEEN THE TOP AND BOTTOM, A NECKUPWARDLY OF THE TOP CENTRALLY APERTURED, REMOVING SAID FORMED CONTAINERFROM THE MOLD, SEVERING SAID SLEEVE INTERMEDIATE THE FIRST AND SECONDPORTIONS THEREOF FOR SEPARATING SAID SLEEVE SECOND PORTION FROM THESLEEVE FIRST PORTION AND TO PROVIDE AN OPENING THROUGH SAID SLEEVE FIRSTPORTION TO THE INTERIOR OF THE OUTER OF ENCLOSING CONTAINER OR MEMBERAND EACH SLEEVE PORTION BEING IN THE FORM OF A SHALLOW TRUNCATED